


If I Really Could Have Hung the Moon, Would It Change Your Mind?

by Dresupi



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Grief/Mourning, Inheritance, Original Character Death(s), Wakes & Funerals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-10-09 05:03:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20506271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dresupi/pseuds/Dresupi
Summary: Darcy's weird inheritance brings her back into contact with her childhood best friend and high school crush, who just happens to be one and the same.But will it bring her back into more than just contact? Here's hoping.





	If I Really Could Have Hung the Moon, Would It Change Your Mind?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [multifarious](https://archiveofourown.org/users/multifarious/gifts).

> I'm so sorry it took me a year to write this. But I hope you enjoy it! <3 
> 
> Title comes from "Two Dozen Roses" by Shenendoah.
> 
> For nefariousinklblot
> 
> Prompt: a relative died and left me a bunch of money and a pile of really weird IOUs?! why did someone owe you a free body disposal. why did someone owe you two brides and a goat. why did someone owe you an island. WHY”

**DARCY**

She wasn’t surprised to get the call.

Gramps had been sick for a while, but when a nurse called Darcy at eleven P.M on a Tuesday, she packed a bag and drove to the airport. She got the first flight available to Mississippi and arrived just in time to hold his hand and assure him that she loved him. That part was sadder than she realized it would be, but it was over in the first few hours she was back home.

It was over quicker than she would have liked, and it left her a little blind-sided.

There was a big old house with her last name on the mailbox, it was sadly empty now, and wasn’t something Darcy could deal with at the moment. So, she rented a room in the town’s only hotel to catch up on some sleep before she invariably had to meet with the funeral parlor. Her hometown was so small, it aspired to be podunk, so there wasn’t really a funeral parlor in the grand sense of things. But the local church offered funeral services and Gramps had already planned and paid for the funeral, but she’d have to sign off on some forms.

Not to mention drive out to that big old empty house first thing after waking up.

Remy’s text was on her phone when she woke up later that afternoon. She wasn’t surprised to get his text either. They’d been together through thick and thin for most of their lives. Darcy’s parents had died in an accident, and Remy’s were good for nothing, so while Darcy actually lived at her grandparents’ place, Remy only practically lived there. 

She and Remy were two peas in a pod growing up, as her Grammy used to say. Darcy had liked hearing it, especially in high school, since she had a wicked crush on her best friend for those four long years. It had grown (or festered, depending on how Darcy felt on the day she thought about it) until there was nothing else to do other than tell him or move on.

At the time, she’d have rather died than tell him, so she went off to college and Remy hung around here. They’d grown apart in a big way. Darcy hadn’t seen him in literal years, not since she’d moved to New York, but she was so glad to not go through this crap alone. And it felt like no time had passed at all.

Apart from her silly schoolgirl crush. That was good and gone. Definitely.

And that was a good thing because she needed someone by her side. With both Grammy and Gramps gone, Remy was the closest thing to family she had. He was being super helpful besides.

He drove her out to the old house, ran ahead to open all the windows so they wouldn’t choke on the dust as they searched through her Grammy’s old photo albums for wedding pictures and the like. He even found an old Polaroid of Darcy and Gramps fishing on the lake that made Darcy tear up all over again, sobbing into Remy’s shoulder and clutching the picture like her life depended on it. He draped one arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “It’s alright, chere…” he murmured. “I miss him too, but he lived a full life.”

“I know. But I was hoping he’d stick around a little longer,” she sobbed.

“He was missin’ your Grammy something fierce…” Remy said softly. “Never let on, but I could tell. He’s been a lot quieter since she passed.”

Darcy knew that. And she knew it was selfish of her to wish him back here, especially when she lived across the country and barely made it home for Christmas the year before.

But it didn’t stop her from missing her Gramps.

They found the pictures and ran them back up to the church so they could get them in frames to use for the service. 

The funeral service was full of old geezers. Friends from Gramps’s youth, from his poker club, and his chess team in the park. There was some overlap, but suffice it to say, he was a pretty popular guy. He was everybody’s friend, and there were no unkind words anyone could think to say about him. But hearing about the ‘good old days’ wore thin on Darcy’s patience. Especially since she was going on negative sleep and coffee fumes. 

Remy was there through all of it. He sent some of the sobbing little old ladies on their way with one of his charming smiles when Darcy wasn’t able to do more than accept condolences. He set up one of the women from Gramps’s church in the church kitchen to accept all the food everyone brought. If he hadn’t have been there, Darcy wasn’t sure what she’d have done. Gotten walked all over by Gramps’s church family, that was for certain.

All in all, the funeral went by quickly. And with Remy’s help, she was able to detour the barrage of southern casseroles and coconut cakes to the old folks’ home where Gramps lived out his final years.

Then, when everything was said and done, she couldn’t think of anything else, she hugged Remy goodbye for longer than was strictly necessary and went back to the airport.

And she kind of assumed that was the last she’d see of any of them. Remy wasn’t one to hop on a plane and come visit, no matter how many texts she sent him begging otherwise.

And, she had no other family in that tiny town. It didn’t really occur to her what that meant until Gramps’ old lawyer, Mr. Vicars, called her at work two days after she got home.

“Ms. Lewis… you left before we could settle the estate.”

“Whose estate? Gramps’s?”

“Henry Lewis’s, yes.”

“I wasn’t aware he had an estate. He told me it was eaten up by fees at the old folks’ home.”

He chuckled a little. “Well, yes. A large chunk of it was. But there is still a small savings account, the home, and the lands, and a few other small items to be dealt with. Could you head back down here at your earliest convenience?”

Darcy’s brow knit. Her boss was going to have kittens if she asked for more time off. It had been for the death of a close family member before, but now? She didn’t love this job, but she didn’t want to get fired either. “Can’t we do it over the phone?”

“No, I’m sorry. It needs to be done in person. Your Gramps’ final wishes are included in your inheritance, so you’ll have to come here in person to hear them.”

“Fine,” Darcy acquiesced. “I’m on the first plane back down there.”

* * *

She was right, by the way. Her boss didn’t understand. And he told her to take her crap with her when she left. His words, not hers.

Her spider plant, novelty coffee mug, and assortment of pens and pencils were  _ not _ crap.

Getting fired didn’t really phase her like she thought it would.

Of course, her looming rent and utility payments kind of phased her a little.

But Mr. Vicars had said something about a small savings account, so maybe it’d be enough to pay off the bills for a little while.

Plus, she could sell the house and land. That would rake in something at least. 

Darcy wasn’t actually annoyed by the five-hour-one-way-trip to her hometown. Not when she looked at it in the grand list of grievances that was her life. 

She texted Remy on the way to the airport, and he promised to be there to pick her up. Darcy listened to an audiobook on the plane, fell asleep about halfway through, and got woken up by the pilot announcing they were in descent, so all in all, it was a relatively stress-free trip.

Remy was waiting past security for her, and she hugged him again, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders and marveling at how much taller he was than her. Not that he’d ever really been shorter than she was, except for that one summer when she turned thirteen.

“Long time no see,” he joked. 

Darcy rolled her eyes. “I gotta settle the estate. Kinda feel dumb for not realizing that earlier… I mean… of course, Gramps has no other family… Kind of a doi moment, I guess.”

Remy shrugged. “So long as I get to see you again, doesn’t bother me that you’re dumb.”

She swatted his shoulder and hoisted her carry-on. “C’mon, you idiot.” There were those old butterflies. Lying dormant in her belly, just waiting for a kind word from Remy LeBeau to burst into flight again.

_ “So long as I get to see you again…” _

He meant it in the friendly-sort-of-way. There was no reason to read too much into it and ruin their friendship.

No reason at all.

* * *

The lawyer met Darcy for dinner at Rosie’s diner, one of her Gramps’s favorite haunts.

He laid out the estate there on the table in front of her. The deed to the house and land. The title to Gramps’s old pick-up in the garage. A broken-down tractor. A check for about forty-five thousand dollars, and a manilla envelope.

She felt a little thrill of relief as she realized she wouldn’t have to lose her apartment.

Inside the envelope were four slips of paper, plus a full handwritten and notarized sheet of yellow legal pad from her Gramps.

Gramps’s lawyer waited while Darcy read the sheet.

_ Darcy-doll, _

_ If you’re reading this, I’ve already passed on to be with your Grammy. I hope I always let you know how much I love you, sweet girl. You’re all I have in the world now, so I’m leaving you everything I own. _

_ I know you don’t wanna live here at the old place, but I didn’t want to try to sell it on my own. So once it’s yours, you can do what you want with it. I’d like it if you kept it, maybe fixed it up a little. But if you don’t want it, I’d rather if you sold it to a family who needed it, rather than letting it go to dust like I have.  _

_ So, here’s the thing. You can sell the house and the land and the truck after you handle the I-O-Us. _

_ There’s four of ‘em. And after you’ve handled them, and given proof to Mr. Vicars, you’ll be free to sell the estate. _

_ I love you, darlin’. Take care of yourself. And try and take care of Ol’ Remy too. I’m getting worried about him, living alone all this time. _

_ Much love, _

_ Gramps _

Darcy’s eyes teared up at the end, and while she waited to collect herself, she tapped her fingernails on the table, watching those other four pieces of paper that came out of the manilla folder.

“You finished?” Mr. Vicars asked.

Darcy nodded, and Remy glanced between them, confused by what had just transpired. She slid the paper across to him so he could read it as well.

Mr. Vicars reached into the pile, plucking a blue post-it from the middle that had long since lost its stickiness. He crumpled it up in his hand and jammed it in his pocket. “I’ll help you out. That one was mine. And it was only good as long as Henry lived.”

“What was it?” Darcy asked.

“Water under the bridge. You have three more to worry about. Get those either waived or fulfilled and come back to see me when you do.”

Mr. Vicars took a sip from his beer and dropped two twenties on the table. “I’ll be seeing you, Ms. Lewis.” He left the way he’d come.

Remy cleared his throat and slid the paper back to her. “Just so you know, chere. I ain’t always alone. You don’t need to be worrying about me. Gramps didn’t need to either.”

Darcy reached for the paper, inadvertently brushing her fingers over his. “You couldn’t tell Gramps who he could and couldn't worry about. You know that.” She tried not to conjure up the image of Remy not alone in his tiny apartment.

She reached for the pile of I-O-Us instead, stacking them neatly and reading them aloud. “Number One, Mr. Jonas Young, I.O.U One Free - Body Disposal, Number Two, Mr. Gregory Porter, I.O.U Two brides and a goat, and Number Three, Ms. Eleanor Biggs, I.O.U one private island.”

That list would surely break the ice here on Mt. Awkward.

Remy’s mouth fell open for a long moment. “Why did people owe your grandpa such weird things? A private island? What in the--”

Darcy shook her head in wonder. “No idea. But I guess I’d better get in contact with these people if I want to be able to sell the house.”

* * *

**REMY**

The air conditioner in his truck was struggling to keep up with the Mississippi heat. Or maybe just struggling to keep up with hers.

He glanced over at Darcy, fanning herself with one of her Gramps’s funeral programs Remy still had lying around in his truck. He almost blushed at some of the thoughts that ran through his mind at the sight of her in those denim shorts. Maybe it was his hot head that was heating things up in here.

Hell, it was probably all three. His poor ten-year-old truck couldn’t keep up with the hormones and heat. 

Remy reached over and turned some of the middle AC vents towards Darcy, in the hopes that she’d stop sweating so much. It made her shirt cling to her in ways that made it difficult to keep his eyes on the road.

_ Stop it, Rem. You’re acting like a pig. _

His eyes crept over to her again, only to catch her gaze this time, and nearly choke on the air he was breathing.

“You okay, Remy?” she asked, her hand coming over to rest on his shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Sorry. Got a frog in my throat or somethin…”

“Might be allergies. Somethin’ I’m allergic to is blooming.”

“Could be, could be…” he said, trailing off. “So, uh… whereabouts is this guy we’re meeting? Am I still going in the right direction?”

“Dude, I don’t even know, I lost service about five miles back, so the GPS isn’t really doing much… I think we need to take a left on this next road up here.”

“Gotcha,” Remy replied, putting on his signal and turning.

He really didn’t want her to sell the old place. But at the same time, he was intrigued by what those I-O-Us of her Gramps meant. He really wanted to meet the fella who promised Henry Lewis free body disposal.

“Darce… you think it’d be the worst thing in the world to move back here?” he asked, hoping to keep his voice light and breezy.

She shrugged. “Not really. I just don’t really have anything or anyone waiting for me here. Doubt I could find work doing what I do. And all my family’s gone.”

“I’m here,” he said with a grin.

“Yeah, but you’ve got your own life and everything. Regardless of what Gramps seemed to think. I’d just get in your way.”

“Nah, you wouldn’t either,” Remy replied quickly. “Wouldn’t be in my way at all. I like having you around.”

“Even if I just ask you to be my chauffeur?” she teased. “Take the next right.”

“I think I could help you fix up that truck of your Gramps’. You could use it as a trade-in for something more suitable for you.”

“Ahh, so you  _ are _ annoyed by my lack of transpo?”

Remy chuckled. “Don’t think you’ve ever annoyed me before, chere.”

“That is a damnable lie, LeBeau. It’s apparently the house at the end of the road. Long driveway by the red sign…”

He squinted in the sun, spotted the red sign and made a right hand turn into the long driveway. “Not a lie.”

“You forget back in high school, you got hella annoyed with me about prom.”

“I wasn’t annoyed with you about prom. I was annoyed with you because you couldn’t get along with my date.” Her name had been Lisa. And she was cheating on him with some guy at the community college, but neither he nor Darcy had known that. Darcy just had a feeling about her. And he couldn’t go to Lisa with a ‘feeling’ his best friend had about her.

“She was cheating on you,” Darcy said with a sniff.

“You didn’t know that until I told you,” he reminded her.

“Still. She acted like you were her backup or something. You ain’t no one’s backup, Remy LeBeau.”

“I ain’t nobody’s nothing anymore,” he said with a laugh, putting the car into park outside of a dilapidated house.

“You will be one day,” Darcy said with such authority, he almost believed her.

They approached the junk covered porch and Remy reached out for her hand. “Listen, if we die in there…”

“We won’t. I have my taser,” she said with a wink, patting her purse. “C’mon. Let’s go meet this person who owes Gramps a body removal.”

* * *

As it turned out, Mr. Jonas Young was a jolly kind of fella. Wore plaid shirts and jorts with his socks pulled up to his knees. But he was dead serious about his I-O-U.

But after some gentle prodding from Darcy, he was willing to forget the debt, given Gramps’ passing, and the unlikelihood that Darcy would ever have to call it in. The drive back was spent in relative silence, apart from Darcy’s off-tune singing along to the radio. Remy was trying to work up the courage to tell her just why he didn’t have somebody. That he’d been hung up on her since she’d left.

That he hadn’t realized just how much he cared about her until she wasn’t there anymore.

But instead of saying something. He said nothing.

And Darcy invited him in for lemonade and to maybe help her clear out one of the rooms?

If she’d been anyone else, he’d have begged out. But he couldn’t turn down the opportunity to spend more time with her. Especially since she was leaving soon and all.

Clearing out ‘just one room’ turned into three, and he was tired by the time the sun went down. And maybe he was a glutton for punishment, but she had Becks in the fridge.

He flopped down on the sofa beside her, taking a swig from the bottle. He propped his foot up on the coffee table and she snorted out a giggle before joining him, scooting up close enough that their legs touched. And then she reached for the remote, unsurprised that barely anything was coming through on analog. “I need to call and get this place hooked up to the internet. Welcome to 1999.”

“You sure you wanna do that? It seems like something you wouldn’t want to do if you’re just gonna sell it and move out,” he said. 

She shrugged and snuggled up close to him. Close enough now that he had to put his arm around her shoulder to stay comfortable on the sofa. “I dunno. Feel like it’d sell better if it had modern comforts.”

“A renovation could be in order, now that you mention it…” Remy said with a chuckle. “Central heat and air might not be remiss.”

“You wanna stay over?” she asked suddenly. Surprising the heck out of him. 

“Come again?” he asked.

“I mean since you’re drinking? Figured the sheriff might have it out for you still?”

He laughed. “Oh no, not anymore. New sheriff’s a friend of mine. But I mean… I could always stay if you want me to. If you don’t wanna be here alone?”

She nodded.

“Okay then.”

They sat in silence for a long moment. And then her hand started moving. More specifically, her fingers. She was tracing something on his belly. It made his muscles jump, and he didn’t mean to word it the way he did. But he did.

“What’re you trying to do, Darce?”

“I dunno,” she replied. “Want me to stop?”

He swallowed back his first response. Which was ‘hell no.’

“Do you want to stop?” he asked her instead.

“Not really.”

He dipped his head down and she met him, pressing her forehead against his as she shifted on the sofa. He could smell her breath. Sweet and a little malty from the beer.

“If you had any idea how long I’ve wanted to do this…” Remy breathed softly.

“Do what?” Darcy asked. “Kiss me?” He nodded, almost falling into the sofa when she jumped up from his lap. “So why didn’t you?” she asked, arms folded in front of her. Her bottom lip started quivering. 

“Why didn’t I?” he asked. “Because you were gone, Darcy. You were up in New York. Dating your big city fellas.”

“I was gone,” she echoed, smiling a little and shaking her head. “Do you know why I left to begin with, Remy?”

He shrugged. “College?”

“There are colleges nearby. I could have commuted from home,” she retorted. “I left because I knew there was no chance for me and you to ever be more than friends, and I didn’t want to ruin our friendship by trying to force it.”

“So you ruined it by moving away?”

Her eyebrows shot up her forehead. “ _ I _ ruined it? I don’t recall you ever accepting one of my invitations to come visit me. Ever. I gave you one three months ago. To come visit me in New York. And you said no. That you were too busy here. So as I see it, I didn’t ruin it. I didn’t ruin anything. You did. Because you were never willing to try anything with me if I wasn’t nearby. You didn’t want to put the work in. Because at the end of the day, Remy. I was convenient.”

“Darce, that ain’t true, chere. You’re puttin’ words in my mouth.”

“Put some there of your own, then,” she countered. “Prove me wrong. If we started things up right now, would you be willing to come spend time with me in New York? Or are you too butthurt by the thought that there’s someone better than you up north? If you can give me a believable answer, I’ll climb in your lap right now.”

Remy sighed heavily. “I don’t want you doing this like that, Darce.”

She sniffed and turned on her heel, went upstairs and slammed the door.

Remy had heard her do that plenty back when they were younger.

Of course, he didn’t think she’d appreciate him climbing up the trellis to knock on her window now. She’d probably push him out on his ass. If he could even get up there without falling.

He swore and laid back on the couch. He could have said what he was thinking. That he’d move up to New York if she’d consider them as a viable option for the future. He’d figure out a life up there if it meant he could share it with her. That’s what he should have said.

Not what he did say.

“Shit…” he mumbled, closing his eyes and listening to her pacing above him.

* * *

**DARCY**

She was pacing across her floor when she heard it. A knock on her bedroom door. Even though she knew damn well who it was, she took her time walking over to answer it. Let him sweat a little. She was. Even if it was because of the wall unit failing to keep up with the humidity and her emotions, rather than any other reason.

Remy was standing on the other side of her door, looking sheepish and embarrassed. “Chere, I’m so sorry.”

She sighed. “No. I am.” She turned and walked over to the bed. This room, along with the living room and a bathroom had been the three that they’d cleared out that afternoon, but it was still cluttered with boxes, so the walk wasn’t as direct as she wanted it to be. She lay back on the quilt with a huff. “I don’t know what I want. I’m sorry if I led you on.”

“Darce, even if you don’t want me. I’m always here for you.”

Darcy closed her eyes and went for it. “I do want you. I thought I could be around you again without having those feelings pop up again, but I can’t. I want you. And I know that’s probably going to ruin things, but I can’t help it, Remy. I can’t do this without telling you how I feel.”

“I told you how I felt, chere. More or less. Mostly less. I told you I’ve been wanting to kiss you for so long, and I’m an idiot for not telling you sooner… and for making you feel like you had to leave to get away from me...” He reached up to rub his hand over the back of his neck, his hair ruffling a little in the process.

Darcy pushed herself up on the bed, propping up on her palms. “Well. I can just say you’re lucky you’re cute. Because that was some bullshit, Remy.”

He smirked. “I can make it up to you.” He paused for a beat, likely realizing what it looked like. “Not tonight. I mean. It could take a while-- not like that-- I just meant--”

Darcy reached for him, grasping his t-shirt and pulling him closer. “C’mere, you idiot.”

His knees hit the bed and he turned to sit down beside her. “Hold up. Just a sec. I wanna say something. I didn’t say it before and you deserve to hear it.”

“Okay? Say it, then.”

“Look, if you think this could possibly happen, I want you to know… you don’t have to move back here. Okay? We can try this long distance. Or I would move to New York. Whatever you want, chere. I just… I’m sick of being stupid about this.”

“You’re not stupid, Remy. Just slow as hell,” Darcy said gently, reaching for his hand. “Let’s do both, okay?”

He frowned. “Both?”

“I’ll keep this place. And you can try something out in New York too. Let’s just… not box ourselves in, okay? I feel like that’s been our problem for too long. We can just take this as it comes.”

Remy leaned over, his hand smoothing over her cheek as he tugged her close. Close enough to capture her lips. 

Finally.

Her mattress creaked as he huffed out a breath through his nose, his fingers tangling in her hair. She parted her lips, allowing her tongue to swipe out into his mouth. She felt him shudder, moan softly at the back of his throat. He released her with a soft pop. “That was…”

“A long time coming,” she said with a laugh.

“Yeah, that too,” he countered. “Now c’mere and let’s make up for lost time…”

She still had two brides, a goat, and a private island to contend with, but now that she definitely wasn’t going to sell the house, and her future was looking like a bunch of open doors, she didn’t care too much about any of that.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave me some sugar!


End file.
